


Not-So-Secret Affair

by Briar_Rose7



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Comedy of Errors, F/M, Lots of minor characters make an appearance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-09-19 17:13:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9451814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Briar_Rose7/pseuds/Briar_Rose7
Summary: Belle French is a good teacher, a wonderful friend and overall a very kind person. That's why no one can understand why she's cheating on her husband with Nicholas Gold.





	1. Chapter 1

“You must be the new English teacher, right?” 

Belle turned towards the voice, and was faced with a young woman who was smiling at her like they’d been friends for years. “Yes, I am, and you are?” she asked. 

“I’m Anna Joan. Joan is my surname, not my name. Oh, and I teach English too. It’s always so nice when new teachers arrive, I love meeting new people. I mean, of course, I’m sorry that Mr Booth, your predecessor, left our school, but it’s really nice to meet you!”

Anna had said all of that practically without breathing, and when she shook Belle’s hand she did it with way more energy than necessary, but all things considered she looked like a nice person. Her smile was so contagious that Belle couldn’t help but smile back, despite her nervousness. It was her first day on the job and, despite her husband’s constant reassurances, she’d been growing increasingly nervous for the past week. 

“I’m Belle, by the way. Belle French.”

“Well, Belle, welcome to our school! Have you already been introduced to the other teachers?”

“Actually no. I mean, I already know a few of them, and I obviously know Principal Mills, but I don’t think I’ve met even half of the people who work here,” she admitted. 

“Would you like me to show you around a bit? I have to warn you, there’s a lot of people here, so I do hope you have good memory when it comes to faces and names. I’m terrible with that; for some reason, when I first got here I kept calling one of our Shop teachers James instead of David. It was kind of awkward.”

Anna was a whirlwind of positive energy, and she was being incredibly kind, but Belle really couldn’t chase her nervousness away, and she was even starting to feel a little nauseous.

“I’m sorry, Anna, but I really don’t feel like meeting too many people right now. I’m a bit anxious about my first lesson,” she said, hoping that the other woman wouldn’t mind her rejection. 

“Oh, that’s fine, I totally get it. On my first day here I was so nervous that I almost tripped on my own chair. I believe that’s one of the reasons why it took my students some time to take me seriously. Oh, it didn’t last long, just until they saw me get really angry. I think I seriously scared some of them,” she said, giggling at the memory.

Belle had a little trouble trying to imagine how such a lovely woman could scare anyone in any way, but she didn’t doubt her words for a moment; Anna didn’t look like the kind of woman who could lie. 

“What made you so angry that you managed to scare a bunch of distracted teens?” Belle asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

“One of them was blatantly trying to make a fool out of me. He’d spun this heartbreaking family tale to explain why he had not been able to do the assigned homework; I believed him and granted him extra time, and when I found out the truth he didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed. He treated me with an arrogance that would have been out of place while talking to one of his classmates, let alone talking to a teacher. I can accept bored students, demotivated students, lazy students, but I demand respect.”

Belle nodded in understanding, then accepted Anna’s offer to show her around after her first lesson. With one last smile, the other woman left the room, and Belle spent another ten minutes alone, taking deep breaths and telling herself that everything would be fine.

Despite all of her fears, her first lesson went as smoothly as it could be expected. Sure enough, her students looked rather pissed at the idea of being once again stuck in a classroom after the summer holidays, but she was pretty sure that, as a teacher, she’d made the best impression possible. She felt much lighter now, and she gladly followed Anna around as she introduced her to an endless number people. Some of them didn’t leave much of an impression on her, but she grew immediately fond of their grumpy janitor, Leroy.

“Hey, Ariel, could you give us a minute?” Anna said, addressing a woman with an impressive mop of red hair.

“Sure, what’s the matter?” she answered, without looking up from her handbag. She was struggling to close it and it was pretty obvious why. The impressive folder she had stuffed in it would never fit properly.

“Ariel, this is Belle, our new English teacher. Belle, this is Ariel. She teaches biology and she’s the loveliest person on the face of the Earth, but be careful because she’s also the messiest. I think the exact content of her handbag is listed amongst the greatest mysteries of all time.”

Ariel smiled, rolling her eyes in fake offense. “Nice to meet you, Belle. What can I say? I’m a collector of the most disparate things, so I always end up with some piece or another in my bag. Oh, and Ariel isn’t my real name; everyone has been calling me that since I was a kid, but don’t be surprised if you hear Miss Mills calling me Angel,” she explained.

“I’m guessing the nickname is because of your red hair?” Belle asked. 

“That and the fact that my mother is Danish. As I kid I was elated that I looked so much like a Disney princess, so I asked everyone to call me Ariel, and by the time I was no longer a Disney enthusiast I was so used to it that I almost forgot to answer when someone used my real name.”

“She’s lying,” Anna said. “She’s still a Disney enthusiast.”

“Well, I _did_ go through a phase when I didn’t want to talk about Disney. You know, in my early teen years, at that age when you’re desperate to show that you’re a grown up.”

“I went through that phase too,” Belle admitted. “And my princess nickname stuck just as well as yours, even though it’s rather easier to get Belle from Isabelle.”

Ariel let out a little squeal of happiness. 

“Oh my God, you’re right, your name is Belle! Oh, if I had met you when I was seven I would have been over the moon!” 

“I would have probably invited you for a princess tea party everyday. Though I must warn you that my princess tea parties generally included some random monster threatening the kingdom, and the princesses having to team up to defeat it,” Belle said. 

“So, like Shrek 3?” Ariel replied. 

“Yes, pretty much. I’m still halfway convinced that they copied me.” 

Anna eventually interrupted their Disney ramblings. “Okay, I can see that there’s a lot of common ground here, and I’m starting to feel like a third wheel, but I’m afraid we need to go because there’s still a lot of people you haven’t met yet, and we don’t have much time left before your next lesson. Unless, of course, you’d rather keep talking to Ariel and end our little tour here,” she said to Belle.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I hadn’t realized we were somehow leaving you out of the discussion. I’d really like to go on with your introductions, if Ariel doesn’t mind. We can still talk later, right?” she asked the redhead. 

“Sure. Now go with Anna and finish your exploration of the great wide somewhere,” Ariel said as a send-off. Belle giggled and followed the other teacher down another corridor, where two men were talking. 

“The shorter one is Nicholas Gold,” Anna told Belle as she waited for an occasion to introduce her friend. “He teaches Chemistry. He joined the school last year and he’s a good teacher, but he’s really closed off and tends to scare off students and colleagues alike. David, the man he’s talking with, is one of the few people he has a civil relationship with.”

“Oh, I know Nicholas Gold,” Belle said smiling. “You see, him and I…” Belle’s explanation was cut short by Anna’s hurried words. 

“Oh, good, you already know him, and David is coming our way. He’s married to Mary Margaret, do you remember her? The History teacher. David, this is Belle, the new English teacher.”

“Oh, I see that you’ve already met my better half,” he said, having obviously heard Anna’s comment about his wife. “It’s always nice to be introduced as Mary Margaret’s husband.”

It took Belle more or less three seconds to start liking David. He was kind, funny, and had one of the sweetest smiles she’d ever seen. Despite her belief that it took time to really know a person’s heart, she’d always trusted her instinct when it came to people, and right now her instinct was telling her that David would be a wonderful friend. 

“So, what is it like, to work with your wife?” she asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

“It’s amazing,” he replied, his eyes sparkling with happiness. “We can spend our breaks together, we hardly have occasions to miss each other, and if there’s something we really need to tell each other we never need to say it on the phone. Some people would be afraid of having too little space for themselves, but for me and Mary Margaret it’s perfect. Not that we don’t take time for ourselves, but we can choose if and when to do that.”

“It sounds lovely,” she replied, beaming up at him. 

They soon had to leave David, since their free time was running out, but somehow they managed to finish their little tour just in time for Belle’s next lesson. She faced it with a much lighter heart, and nothing managed to wipe her big smile away off her face. Despite all the doubts that had gnawed at her for the past few weeks, she was confident that her stay in this school was going to be wonderful.

A couple of weeks later, Anna and Ariel were eating their lunch together, discussing the most recent and unexpected of developments to hit the school. In other words, they were gossiping.

“I really didn’t think Belle would take a liking to Gold of all people,” Anna said honestly. 

“Yes, I have to admit that I didn’t see it coming. It also surprises me how quickly they got acquainted; I mean, he was almost an hermit for a year, then suddenly Belle arrives and he starts liking people?” Ariel said, still unable to believe what was happening. She’d even seen Gold _smile_. 

“He doesn’t like people. He likes _her_ ,” replied Anna, struggling to articulate words with her mouth full of food. 

Ariel gaped at her.

“What? You can’t be suggesting…” Gold was married, _Belle_ was married, and while Ariel didn’t know much about Gold's character, she really couldn’t picture Belle as a cheating spouse.

“No, I wasn’t!” came Anna’s shocked reply. “But… are _you_ suggesting it?” she asked. 

“I… don’t know.” Ariel could barely believe her own words; just a handful of minutes before, she would have punched in the face anyone who dared insinuate such mean things about her new friend. 

“Anna, Ariel, there you are! I was afraid I’d never find you!” Belle’s cheerful voice made them both jump in their seats. Their reaction obviously didn’t go unnoticed, and Belle frowned.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No, I mean, we were just… we weren’t expecting you,” Ariel blurted out.

“We thought you were going to spend the lunch break with Gold,” Anna said, somehow mustering a neutral tone.

If looks could kill, Ariel’s glare would have burned a hole through Anna’s skull. Belle, however, didn’t seem bothered in the slightest by the observation.

“Well, I do enjoy spending time with him, but you’re my friends, you won’t get rid of me so easily,” she said, her expression earnest and her smile sincere.

_They’re just good friends_ , Ariel and Anna thought, the shadow of doubt vanishing from their minds. _They’re definitely just good friends_. 

_They’re definitely more than just friends_ , Mary Margaret thought a few weeks later. Both she and her husband had always thought that, despite the fact that they were married, it wouldn’t be proper for two teachers to be seen snogging like teenagers. That’s why, after many years of working together, they knew all the quiet places of the school, where the chances of being seen were close to zero. They knew every forgotten corridor, every abandoned classroom or hidden spot in the courtyard.

That day, however, something had changed. When they’d gotten to the least frequented part of the courtyard, someone was already there. And not just _anyone_ , but Belle and Gold. They were walking arm in arm, Belle leaning her head against his shoulder, and it was obvious that they were really close. _Too close_. 

“David, did you know anything about this?” Mary Margaret asked her husband, dragging him behind a corner so that the other couple wouldn’t notice them. 

David looked more confused than her.

“I… no, I didn’t. I did notice that he seemed to get along unusually well with her, but I didn’t think too much of it. It’s not like he told me anything about this. If anything, he once told me about his wife, and he looked completely besotted. I couldn’t imagine he was the kind of man who would…” he trailed off, not sure how to complete the sentence. 

He looked at his wife, and he knew that they were both thinking the same thing. He’d once been in Nicholas’s position. When he’d met Mary Margaret, he was already married to another woman, and their affair had carried on for a while, in an endless cycle of breaking up and inevitably falling back into each other’s arms, until he’d finally had to admit to Kathryn that he didn’t love her anymore. He’d never been more disgusted with himself than in the night when he’d broken her heart. Luckily, he knew that she had since happily remarried, and that helped soothe his sense of guilt. However, at least Mary Margaret hadn’t been married back then, while Belle was. 

“So you agree with me; they’re not just friends, are they?” his wife asked him, seeking confirmation. 

“No, I don’t think they are. Belle might be a very tactile person, but Nicholas certainly is not. I can’t see how they could not be… something more.”

“I think we should keep what we saw to ourselves. It’s not our business, after all,” she said.

_And we’re the last ones who could judge them_ , they both thought. David nodded, and they quietly waked away from the other couple, a tense silence hanging between them.

Belle and Gold, however, didn’t seem to care about secrecy. They were seen in compromising situations time and time again, by different people, and by the beginning of November everyone in the school was talking about their affair. 

Zelena Green had tried to ignore the rumors, she really had. She knew Nicholas, and she knew that little slip of a girl was not good for him. He deserved more, he surely _wanted_ more, but one should never underestimate the power of a beautiful face and a nice pair of legs. Zelena had to admit it, Belle knew how to play her cards; but a slut, clever or not, was still nothing more than a slut. 

The last straw had been the sight of Belle shamelessly getting in Nicholas’s car one afternoon, and leaving the school with him. She really had no concept of decency. Upon seeing that, Zelena had decided to take action; she wouldn’t let that wench drag Nicholas’s name in the mud.

She had thought about finding out who Belle’s husband was, and to tell him what exactly his wife did at her workplace, but that was too much of a risk. Rather than putting an end to this nonsense, it could very likely lead to Belle getting divorced, thus freeing her ‘relationship’ with Nicholas from one of its major obstacles. 

No, her line of action had to be a more direct one. The next day, she waited until lunch break, then she asked Belle if they could talk in private for a moment. Belle followed her, looking sincerely confused as to why she wanted to talk to her. She either was a really great actress, or she was simply much dumber than Zelena had thought.

“So, what do you want to tell me?” Belle asked, obviously impatient to go back to her friends. _Or to run away from this confrontation_ , Zelena thought.

“I’ve seen you with Nicholas, you know? Actually, I think the whole school has seen the two of you.”

Belle crossed her arms, looking nonplussed.

“So?”

_What an insolent harlot!_

“So, you need to know that you’re not the only one, nor the first one. Nicholas and I have been together since last year, long before you even came to this school.”

That did seem to break her composure a bit. Zelena knew her blow had hit home; sluts like Belle French had no qualms on stealing married men from their wives, but no woman would ever want to be fooled like that, especially not one that was more used to being the one doing the fooling.

“You’re lying,” Belle replied firmly, shaking her head. 

Zelena raised her hands, not caring about getting in a fight now that the seed of doubt had been planted. 

“Believe me or not, it doesn’t change the facts. Nicholas is lying to you, and when it comes down to making a choice, he’ll choose _me_.”

Having delivered the last blow, Zelena turned around and left the room, leaving Belle alone. Belle had wanted to join her friends for lunch, but now she didn’t feel like eating anymore. Zelena was lying, she _knew_ she was, but she still needed to hear it from Nicholas’s lips.

She left the empty classroom Zelena had dragged her into and went in search of Gold. Luckily, her search didn’t take long, but when she told him they needed to talk alone she heard someone snickering behind her back. It was Killian Jones, a Gym teacher Belle had never been able to stand, not since her very first day. She had noticed that recently people had started acting weirdly in front of her and Nicholas, but she really couldn’t fathom why. _Could it be because they knew she was being cheated on?_ No, it couldn’t be. She knew Nick, and he’d never do it. 

Once they were alone, Belle took a deep breath to steel herself for the discussion to come, while Nick watched her with ever-growing worry.

“I talked to Zelena a few minutes ago,” she said as a starter, trying to scan his face for any sign of fear. She found none.

“And?” he asked.

“She told me something. Something that sounds incredibly foolish, but I need to hear your version of the facts.”

There was a flash of understanding in his eyes, but he did nothing but nod, encouraging her to go on.

“She told me you and her are… dating, I suppose,” she blurted out eventually. God, it hurt even just to think of it.

His eyes widened in shock and rage.

“What? I imagined it would be something like that, but _this_ … she’s crossed the line. She really has,” he was so angry that he couldn’t even express himself properly. He was fuming.

“I take it, it’s not true then?” Belle asked. It was obvious from his reaction, but she wanted to hear those words, she wanted him to look her in the eyes and tell her it was all a blatant lie.

“Of course it’s not!” he exclaimed. He sighed heavily, massaging his own temples with his hands. “Zelena has been obsessed with me since I came into this school. Before becoming a drama teacher, she tried for a long time to become a professional actress. I think she never truly accepted the fact that she didn’t make it. Once she persuaded me into watching a recording of one of her plays. I told her that I thought she had talent, and she somehow took it as a proof of undying love. She has been pestering me ever since, but it’s usually bearable, albeit annoying. Spreading such lies about me is a different matter. It’s simply too much. I’ll have to talk to her.”

“I knew she had to be lying,” Belle said, breathing out a sigh of relief. “But, well, I was afraid. I’m always afraid of losing you.”

“Just as I’m always afraid of losing you, but you don’t have to worry: I’ll never have eyes for anyone else. I love you, and only you,” he said, gently hugging her as the hint of a blush colored his cheeks. He always blushed when he expressed his feelings for her.

“And I love you too,” she replied, pressing herself against his chest. She was an English teacher, yet she would never find the right words to express the entirety of her feelings for him, to tell him just how much he meant to her.

Belle felt much lighter when they eventually parted, and went cheerfully back to work. Nicholas, however, was bound to have two very unpleasant encounters: one planned, one unexpected. He was looking for Zelena, getting ready for a stressful discussion, when he stumbled upon Killian Jones, who once again snickered at him.

“Is there something you wanted to say?” Gold barked at him. 

“Now, can’t a man be happy for one of his colleagues? I always thought you were a boring old man, but it turns out you definitely have the spirit of a man twenty years younger. Dealing with one woman and marrying her is stressful enough, but handling two of them? That requires some stamina.”

Jones kept smiling like an idiot, and Gold had to fight really hard to maintain a bare minimum of composure in front of such accusations. _Damn Zelena and her lies_. 

“I’d like to inform you that I’ve always been strictly monogamous. I don’t like cheating and I don’t like cheaters, _is that understood_?”

Killian Jones raised his arms in defeat, even though he definitely didn’t look like he’d understood.

“Sure, mate. You are definitely not a cheater, and you definitely didn’t just spend some quality time with your girl. I lock myself in empty rooms to _talk_ with pretty girls all the time.”

“You… How dare you? Get out of my face. NOW!” Gold was almost screaming now, spasmodically clenching his fists as he tried to suppress the urge to punch the other man in the face. 

Jones scurried off, his insufferable smirk still in place, and Gold was left alone, wondering why everyone seemed so keen on putting him in difficult positions today. He needed to take a moment to calm down, or he was guaranteed to make a scene with Zelena. 

One week later, despite the fact that they’d resolved the Zelena problem, Belle knew that something was still wrong. She could no longer ignore the sneers and glares aimed at her and Nicholas. She honestly couldn’t understand why people looked at them that way, but what hurt her the most was that even Anna and Ariel seemed to be disapproving of her. She needed to confront them about whatever it was that was upsetting them, because she honestly couldn’t bear the situation anymore. Maybe, if she solved the problem with them, she’d somehow manage to solve the issue with the rest of the school too.

When she asked them what was wrong, Anna choked on her drink, and Ariel stopped with her fork halfway towards her mouth. They both looked at her with a mixture of shock and terror.

“What do you mean? Nothing’s wrong,” Ariel replied feebly, not sounding convincing at all.

“Of course it is. Everyone in the school looks at me like I murdered their family, and even you two look embarrassed in my presence. I want to know why,” Belle replied, feeling more confused and angry with every passing moment.

“Well, isn’t it obvious?” Anna replied. “It’s because of you and Gold. I mean, you can’t be so naive to think that everyone would be okay with that.”

Belle gaped at her ‘friends’ in horror. She’d hoped until the very last moment that she was wrong, that her relationship with Nicholas had nothing to do with it, but apparently people were much more close minded than she had thought. 

“What’s the matter with me and him? We _love_ each other, and it’s not like we’ve been anything less than appropriate.”

“Yes, you haven’t been caught naked in a classroom, I’ll give you that, but that doesn’t change the fact that your romance has been pretty obvious for some time now,” Anna insisted.

“And what’s the matter with it? How can you all be so close minded? Not one of you seemed to have a problem with David and Mary Margaret!” Belle basically screamed. 

“It’s not the same thing,” Ariel replied, briefly wondering how Belle had come to know about David’s past as a cheater; it wasn’t a story he spread around without a thought. She reasoned that Belle must have heard it from Mary Margaret: that woman had many qualities, but discretion certainly wasn’t one of them.

“So ‘it’s not the same thing’, right? You’re all hypocrites, that’s what you are. At least admit that it’s the age difference that’s bothering you. I could have accepted this from anyone, but not from the two of you. I thought we were _friends._ ” 

Unable to hold back the tears any longer, Belle turned around, walking away from Ariel and Anna. The two women called her, but she didn’t stop. She took her phone and sent a quick text to Nicholas. She needed to see him immediately. 

Emma Swan and Lily Star were the two most known troublemakers of the school. They’d decided that it would be a pity to waste one of the rare sunny days of November staying in class, so they were readying themselves to climb over the school’s fence when they heard voices coming from beyond a hedge. 

“I just don’t see how what we do is a problem. God, I wasn’t expecting that from them,” a female voice said. It was clear that the woman had been crying until a few seconds before. 

“I don’t know, sweetheart,” replied a male voice. “We always knew the age difference was going to be a problem, but I never expected this much hostility; it’s like everyone suddenly hates us. Earlier this morning Leroy threatened to drown me in one of the toilets if I keep ‘behaving like an irresponsible child and playing games with you’.”

“God, not Leroy too!” whimpered the first voice. 

Ever a curious girl, Emma couldn't help but pry beyond the hedge, a big grin forming on her face as she saw who the voices belonged to. As she’d suspected, it was professors Gold and French. Lily was spying on them too, and the two girls looked at each other in glee; they’d stumbled upon one hell of a story. After today, the affair between Gold and French wouldn’t be just a rumor anymore. They now had proof.

“I’m so sorry, Belle. I never wanted to put you in this position,” he said, gently caressing her back. 

“You have nothing to be sorry about. You were doing wonderfully here on your own, but I just _had_ to take this job and ruin things. _I’m_ sorry.”

She leaned forward as if to kiss him, but he slightly pushed her back. She rolled her eyes in playful annoyance, but her tone was sweet when she spoke again.

“Don’t worry, Nick. There’s no one out here. No one will see us.”

_You’re so wrong about this,_ Emma thought. As she started to back away from the hedge, she saw Lily pressing her phone against the leaves; she was talking a photo of them kissing! Finally satisfied with her work, her friend turned around, a devious grin on her face. 

“I think we might go back to class, after all,” Lily said, raising her phone allusively. “We have some gossip to spread.”

Regina Mills had never had any patience for nonsense or gossip. She definitely didn’t have any patience with nonsensical gossip. She ran her school with discipline and logic, and she honestly wasn’t prone to giving second chances to anyone. That’s why she would only try to talk some sense into Gold once, before she took further action.

She’d not paid any attention to the rumors for a long time, maybe too long, because she honestly couldn’t see how an unconfirmed fling could impact her school’s image. When she’d realized, however, that all of her students where talking about it, and that there was even some kind of photographical proof circulating amongst them, she’d realized that things had gone too far. That’s what happened when fools let their hearts (or their groins) make their decisions for them.

Gold didn’t look pleased when he got to her office; he’d probably guessed the reason behind their meeting.

“Did you want to see me?” he asked.

“Indeed. Please, Gold, take a seat. There’s something we need to talk about.”

He sat in front of her desk, trying to compose his face into a neutral expression.

“Gold, I honestly think you’re a good teacher, and since you’ve started working here you’ve never given me any reason to complain, but I suppose you know why I called you today.”

“I don’t like to make assumptions, Miss Mills,” he replied dryly. 

He knew how to play his cards, Regina could give him that. He wouldn’t give away anything unless she put him under real pressure, but she had no intention to do that. She didn’t need or want a confession, she only wanted him to come back to his senses. 

“Well, if you’re really in the dark about what has been going on in this school for several weeks, I’m afraid I’ll have to inform you that your unusual… _attentions_ towards Miss French haven’t gone unnoticed.”

As much as he was a good liar, Regina noticed that Gold couldn’t hide his lack of surprise. He huffed, barely keeping himself from rolling his eyes at her. 

“So what?” he replied, even though the rhetorical question sounded unconvincing to his own ears. He knew what she was going to tell him, he’d seen it coming, but that didn’t mean that he liked it. 

“While I honestly don’t care about what my teachers do with their private lives, this has to stop. Gold, I can’t have the whole school talking about the two of you; it’s not educational. You’ve been here longer than French, so you should have known better, but I’m willing to forgive your momentary lack of judgment as long as this story ends today. If it doesn’t, I’m afraid I’ll have to take action.” 

“Against me or her?” he asked, leaning towards the Principal in what he hoped was an imposing manner. Deep down, he was cursing himself for putting Belle’s teaching position at risk.

“Against you both, if necessary. Once again, I don’t want to do this, but I’ll do it if you force my hand,” she replied, nonplussed. 

He had no other choice but to surrender.

“Fine. I promise this will end today. You won’t see us together anymore,” Gold said reluctantly. The hardest part was going to be telling Belle. She would be furious, she would be devastated, but he wasn’t going to put her job in jeopardy. He would make her understand. 

“Then everything will be fine. I knew I could make you see reason,” Regina replied, smiling broadly at him. He’d never liked her smile; it was too cold, too calculating. 

He felt exhausted when he left her office; everything that he and Belle had hoped for had just been destroyed, and he hadn’t even tried to fight for it. 

In the following weeks, people kept whispering about Gold and French, but this time they were speculating on why and how they had broken up. It was pretty obvious that they had, since one day they’d started openly ignoring each other, barely even saying hello when they met in the corridors. Many were glad that they had finally come to their senses, but others were betting that French had simply found someone else to dedicate her attentions to, someone who was probably older and richer. 

If anyone had bothered to actually _look_ at Belle French, however, they would have realized that this separation was clearly something she had not wanted. 

Belle knew what people whispered behind her back: _slut_ , _freak with daddy-issues_ , _man stealer_. She’d gotten used to those whispers since high school, when Anastasia had accused her of being the reason why she and Will had broken up. Being with Nicholas had only made things worse, but Belle really couldn't see why people were so angry with her. How could she steal men, if they wanted to be with her?

She’d never felt so isolated; she’d lost any desire to hang out with the other teachers as soon as she had realized everyone was either judging her or ready to congratulate her for making the right choice, for stopping her ‘foolishness’ with Gold. She had even considered quitting her job, but she couldn’t do that, or Nicholas would blame himself for it. She was trapped, and she was only hoping the Christmas Holidays would come soon and give her some time to rest. 

Just a couple of days before the holidays, Regina Mills was walking back to her home, cursing her car that had suddenly decided to stop working. Had the climate been milder, she could have enjoyed her walk, but the wind was blowing harshly, and she couldn’t wait to get home and have a strong drink. A few blocks away from the school, however, she stopped dead in her tracks, hardly believing her own eyes. 

Belle French, whom she’d seen leaving the school on foot just a few minutes before, was getting into what Regina knew was Gold’s car. She could only see the silhouette of the driver, but she had no doubt that it was Gold. As soon as French got in the car, the two of them kissed, her hand gently finding its way into his hair.

Regina went blind with rage. They’d lied to her. They’d simply put on a cold facade for their job’s sake, but they’d carried on with their foolishness. Regina was vaguely aware that she probably shouldn’t have cared, since it didn’t directly affect the school anymore, but she simply couldn’t accept it. She hated being made to look a fool, and what if the rumors spread again? Someone could see them out of school, after all. No to mention the fact that they were both bloody married.

Gold drove away, and Regina strode towards her home, planning her next move.

“French, may I know what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Regina asked Belle the following day, after calling her to her own office.

“What are you talking about?” Belle replied, flabbergasted. She hardly spoke to Nick anymore, Regina couldn’t have any more complaints on the matter.

“Don’t lie to me. I saw you yesterday, getting into Gold’s car.”

Belle looked at her like she’d just grown a second head.

“Excuse me? I don’t see how that has anything to do with you.”

“For God’s sake, Belle, are you out of your damn mind? It doesn’t matter if you’re out of school, this is wrong! Don’t look at me like that, I understand you. Gold is a charming man, he’s clever, and he’s kind of a silver fox, I can see why you took a liking to him. Let’s be honest, probably half of the people who work here have daydreamed about him once or twice, including myself, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re both married!” 

Belle was now gaping at her, apparently too confused to form words.

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” she whispered after a while.

“Well, you can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed his wedding ring. Look, I don’t know who your husband is, but…”

“What do you mean, you don’t know him?” Belle cut her off mid-sentence, her eyes wide in astonishment.

“Well, I don’t think I do, and I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, but I’m sure he doesn’t deserve to be cheated on.”

Belle’s only answer to that was a powerful, albeit slightly hysterical, laugh.

“Oh My God… my husband… Miss Mills, Nicholas Gold is my husband! We’re married _to_ _each other_!”

It was Regina’s turn to gape at the other woman.

“You two… are married?” she repeated.

“And you thought we were not? God, _that’s_ why you were all so mean about it. I can’t believe that this is the reason why I hardly have friends here anymore. I basically stopped talking to my husband at work, we had to endure the school’s disapproval for months, and now you’re telling me that it was all a damn misunderstanding?” she asked breathlessly. 

“So it seems… but you can hardly blame us. I mean, you don’t look like a married couple. You don’t even have the same last name,” Regina remarked, still processing the fact that she’d just admitted to Belle French that she thought her husband was hot.

“Well, excuse me for wanting to keep my own name,” Belle replied bitterly.

“Then why did you make it seem like you were hiding? We might have got a clue if you’d just been a bit more… obvious.”

“Not that it is any of your business, but Nicholas doesn’t like public displays of affection. I highly doubt that’s a crime,” Belle’s reply was still a bit bitter, but her anger was already fading away. What really mattered was that it was all over. The suffering, the unbearable distance between Nick and her, the others vicious whispers. It had all been a big misunderstanding. 

“If you’ll excuse me now, I need to go find my husband,” Belle said, a smile finally forming on her face. 

“Sure, go. For what it’s worth, Belle, I’m really sorry for what happened. However, I just want to warn you: it might be easy to explain the truth to the rest of the teachers, but quietening the students down might be harder. Should you need help with that, you know where to find me.”

“We’ll think of something. Thank you,” Belle replied, leaving the room. She ran the distance between the Principal’s office and the Chemistry lab; luckily, she found Nicholas alone, waiting for his students to come in. She threw herself in his arms, giggling as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“It was all a misunderstanding, Nick,” she explained to her confused husband. “No one realized we were married. They all thought we were cheating on our spouses.”

“Are you serious?” he asked her, a small smile starting to form on his lips.

“I am. I just talked to Principal Mills. We can spend time together now.”

Her eyes were shining with happiness, and Nicholas just couldn’t resist. He kissed her, gently and lovingly, for once uncaring of the fact that someone could walk in on them. Actually, someone _did_ walk in on them. 

“Oops. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything. I just wanted to ask Nicholas about one thing, but I’ll leave you two to your fun,” came a male voice from the classroom’s door.

Victor Whale was another Chemistry teacher, and he was one of those people who had always looked more amused than shocked by their ‘clandestine’ relationship. God, it all made much more sense now. Whale was about to leave the room when Nicholas stopped him.

“Victor, wait. This has just been a big misunderstanding. We’re married _to each other_ ,” he explained. Whale whistled, apparently at a loss for words for a few seconds.

“Well, congratulations. I guess I’ll leave the two of you anyway: you _are_ having fun after all, and I would never want to cockblock you lovebirds.”

Both Belle and Nicholas blushed at his words, but they knew that there was no malice in them; Victor just liked to tease people like that. 

Belle stopped Whale once again, assuring him that he wasn’t interrupting anything, and kissed her husband goodbye; they had plenty of time to be together after all, and there were many people she still needed to talk to.

Anna and Ariel were the first on her list, and once Belle explained the situation to them Anna was so shocked that she seemed unable to form coherent sentences for almost a minute. Belle was starting to fear that her friend was going to faint, but then Anna erupted with a powerful, sincere, heart-warming laugh. That seemed to break the tension that had been a constant between them in the past weeks, and for the first time in too long Belle felt finally at ease with them, finally _happy_. Lots of apologies were made and received, and then the three of them hugged so tightly that Belle was afraid some ribs were going to end up cracked. 

She talked to Mary Margaret and David next, and they too were both elated to find out the truth and embarrassed for what they’d assumed. Slowly but surely, the fact that Belle French and Nicholas Gold were actually married spread amongst the teachers. 

As Regina had expected, however, spreading the news amongst the student was harder, especially since Belle and Nicholas still didn’t want to show off too much. They needed some gesture to make their marriage clear, something small but undeniable. They discussed a lot of possibilities, but eventually they found the perfect solution, the one that had been staring them in the face since the beginning. It was something they’d thought about doing anyway. A change of name was the most undeniable sign of marriage they could think of, and they’d just avoided it at the beginning of their marriage because it would require too much paperwork. Now, however, was the perfect time.

Their plan was successful. When they came back from the Christmas holidays, no one doubted about their marriage anymore. Not when Nicholas started introducing himself as Nicholas French. 


	2. What's in a name?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [barpurplewrites](http://barpurplewrites.tumblr.com) asked: how did the students react when Nicholas introduced himself as Mr French?

The moment the chemistry lesson ended and Professor Gold, no, _French_ , was out of earshot, everyone started gossiping about what was hands down the most shocking revelation of the year. Nicholas Gold and Belle French were actually _married_ , who could have guessed that?

No one had dared comment on the fact in front of their chemistry teacher, but now the corridors were buzzing with the students’ discussion, as the news quickly spread through the school. 

“Now everyone is going to laugh at us,” Lily complained to Emma. “Everyone knows we are the ones who spread that photo, and now we’re gonna look like idiots in front of everyone,” she groaned as she stomped through the corridors. 

“Come on, everyone thought they were having an affair, even before that photo. We won’t look dumber than anyone else,” Emma replied, trying to make her see reason.

Lily knew that Emma was probably right, but she just couldn’t calm down. She hated being wrong, and she hated even more having to admit it. Now the whole school knew she’d been horribly mistaken, and she’d need some time to get over it. Time and, possibly, a lot of junk food. 

“Anyway, I really didn’t expect Gold to take Professor French’s surname. It’s… weird, and I couldn’t imagine him of all people doing that,” Emma added, changing the subject. 

She was right once again, Lily thought. Not that Gold looked like someone who’d feel emasculated if his wife didn’t take his surname, but she really couldn’t picture her stern teacher as someone who’d change his name for his spouse. That was a gesture that was both romantic and… submissive, in a certain way, and she didn’t think Gold was either of those things. Apparently, she’d been wrong on that as well. 

“When I marry, I’m going to ask my husband to take my surname,” Emma went on, and Lily stopped dead in her tracks, looking at Emma in surprise.

“What? Does that sound so weird to you?” Emma asked, noticing her friend’s shock. 

Lily shook her head, as if she’d just realized what she’d done. 

“No, of course not. I just didn’t take you as the kind of girl who is already dreaming of fairytale weddings at sixteen,” Lily snapped, but there was no strength in her voice. Emma really couldn’t understand what had made her mood turn so sour, and was about to reply when someone interrupted them. 

“Believe me, Emma, you’re one of the hottest girls in this school, but not even that could convince any real man to change his name for you. Professor _French_ must be secretly a faggot to do something like that.”

It was Ryan, a complete idiot who unfortunately had many classes in common with them, and who thought ‘no’ was always a challenge when it came from a girl. He’d been pestering Emma since the beginning of the school year, and right now she was second-guessing her new year’s resolution not to knee anyone in the nuts; she really didn’t want to be sent to the Principal’s office again, but Ryan clearly needed a lesson, and she never backed away from a fight. 

“Well, if you’re talking about real men I guess the issue doesn’t concern you, since you’re obviously not one of them,” she bit back, as she and Lily dropped their schoolbags to the floor. She didn’t want to fight right now, but should Ryan try anything, they were ready. 

He went beet red at her words, his friends snickering behind his back, and he stepped closer to Emma, clenching his fists in anger.

“I’ll make you regret this. You two act like you’re so cool, but you’re nothing. If you went out with me, then you’d be someone, you’d be envied, but if you keep playing hard to get you’ll never be anything more than an orph…”

“Enough of this,” another voice interrupted Ryan cruel words, stopping him right before he earned a punch in the face from Emma. They both turned around to find Neal Cassidy glaring at the other boy in anger and disgust. “Bugger off, Ryan, I think we’ve all had enough of your shit for today.”

Ryan didn’t look in any way intimidated.

“What’s the matter, Neal, you’ve come to save your girlfriend? Has she told you already that she wants you to become Neal Swan?” he said, mocking him. 

Neal blushed furiously at his words, but didn’t back off. 

“He’s not my boyfriend, and he’s got nothing to do with this,” Emma said before Neal could reply. “Come on, what were you going to say before he interrupted us? Finish your sentence if you’re brave enough,” she dared Ryan, coming even closer to him.

“What’s going on here?” asked another voice, and everyone froze on the spot. Principal Mills had noticed them, and all they could do was mutter: “nothing” and scurry off. 

“What did you think you were doing?” Emma whispered angrily at Neal as they walked away.

“I just wanted to help,” he replied.

“Well, the next time mind your own business. I’m no damsel in distress, I can handle myself,” she stated firmly, walking away with Lily.

Neal watched her go and sighed; he would never admit it, but he’d give anything to become Neal Swan. 

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this](http://sarashouldbestudying.tumblr.com/search/someone%20needs%20to%20rumbelle%20this) tumblr post. I couldn't stop myself from writing this, even though I didn't expect this fic to become so long. Infinte thanks to [ stillsearching47](http://archiveofourown.org/users/stillsearching47/pseuds/stillsearching47), my amazing beta.


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